Elizabeth Holmes Had A "Wolf" Named Balto

A Crucial Update On Elizabeth Holmes's "Wolf" Named Balto

According to whispers on the internet, Balto, Elizabeth Holmes's husky, is doing just fine. One Reddit commenter claims to have seen the businesswoman and her pup around town in San Francisco and says Balto is "adorable."

A commenter below on this very website (who may or may not be Holmes herself...) also reports that Balto is "doing great" and is taken care of by a few different people. Also, they say his peeing problem is under control.

This story was originally published on February 21.

What exactly happened with Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes (who is facing nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, allegedly defrauding investors, doctors, and patients) is still a mystery. Hopefully, some light will be shed in HBO's upcoming documentary about the alleged scam, The Inventor, but there's an even bigger question I hope it answers: What happened to Holmes's dog?

In a Vanity Fair piece detailing Holmes's final months at the company, author Nick Bilton devotes a section to the founder's husky, Balto. Named after the famous husky who led a team of sled dogs in 1925 to deliver medicine, Holmes' Balto seemed to represent her desire to change the world. He also was not potty-trained, apparently.

"Accustomed to the undomesticated life, Balto frequently urinated and defecated at will throughout Theranos headquarters," Bilton writes. "While Holmes held board meetings with people like Henry Kissinger, Balto could be found in the corner of the room relieving himself while a frenzied assistant was left to clean up the mess."

And just like his namesake (at least in the 1995 animated hit, Balto), Balto 2.0 had a little bit of wolf in him, apparently prompting Holmes to tell strangers that he was a wolf —period. Some other Balto 2.0 facts: he probably cost between $600-$1,300, had a corner office with Holmes, and he failed out of his search-and-rescue program.

That's okay! I don't care what qualifications he does (or doesn't) have, I hope he's okay! As Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison, her social media is private — meaning there's no way of knowing if Balto is still by her side. He certainly doesn't appear in these photographs Bilton later posted of Holmes's life post-Theranos.

Refinery29 has reached out to Holmes's counsel about the status of Balto and will update if we hear back.